Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is a 15-digit unique serial number of mobile devices. It is allocated by a global industry body GSMA and its authorised organisations. In India, Mobile Standards Alliance of India (MSAI) is the official reporting body of GSMA.
Recently, the Department of Telecom has taken over the process of issuing and allocating the IMEI numbers for mobile phones in India from the private body MSAI. The new ‘Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction (ICDR) system’, which has been developed by the R&D unit of DoT is being tested on pilot basis on the web portal of Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR).

Notes:
The recent Economic Survey 2019-20 was presented by the Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian and tabled in Parliament by the Union Finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, a day before the presentation of Union Budget 2020-21.
As per the document, the economic growth of the next fiscal year is projected to be 6-6.5 percent. The GDP of the previous fiscal year FY20 was stated as 5 per cent. It also hoped for an upward growth in the second half of 2019-20, after the economy slowed down to 4.8% GDP growth in H1 of 2019-20.

Notes:
Rubigula, the Flame-throated Bulbul is the official state bird of Goa. The bird, also known as Ruby-throated yellow bulbul, has been named as the official mascot for the 2020 National Games.
Goa is set to play host to the 36th edition of the National Games from 20th October to 4th November, 2020 in 37 sports disciplines across 24 venues. In a ceremony recently held, Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju unveiled the state bird as the mascot.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister hiked the maximum insurance provided for bank deposits to ₹ 5 Lakh, per depositor, in her recent Union Budget 20-21.
As per the existing guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, deposits of the customers with all commercial banks and cooperative banks are insured under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). Each depositor is insured up to a maximum of ₹1 lakh on deposits in all types of accounts (current, savings, fixed) in a particular bank. This 1 lakh limit is now increased to 5 lakhs, per depositor.

Notes:
The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu recently inaugurated the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project between the twin cities of Karnataka, Hubbali to Dharwad.
The project cost of Rs 970 crore is jointly funded by the state and central governments and the World Bank. The BRTS established between the cities on a trial basis already serves more than 1 lakh passengers per day. It has now become fully operational and is expected to be a major boost in the state’s public transport.

Notes:
World Cancer Day is organized by the Union for International Cancer Control and celebrated every year on February 4, from 2000. This year the theme of the campaign is ‘I am and I will’.
The World Cancer Day campaign was first created in the year 2000, and this year’s is the 20th edition of the day. It is observed to create awareness about the disease across the world and to improve individual and government action. The campaign aims at reducing the number of premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by one third by 2030.

Notes:
Veteran Indian actor Waheeda Rehman was recently conferred with the prestigious Kishore Kumar Samman Award for the year 2018. The award was instituted by the Madhya Pradesh government.
Famous director Priyadarshan was conferred with the Kishore Kumar Samman for the year 2019, on the death anniversary of the legendary actor Kishore Kumar, October 13, 2019. As Waheeda Rehman could not receive the award during the ceremony, she was presented the award now, by the Madhya Pradesh culture minister Dr Vijaylaxmi Sadho.

Notes:
The biennial Defence exhibition of India, ‘DefExpo’ was recently inaugurated at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also attended the inaugural programme.
A live demonstration of naval systems, aerial systems and land systems was performed during the ceremony. The main theme of the DefExpo 2020 is ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’ and the focus will be on ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’. The five-day-exhibition is to be attended by delegates and military manufacturers from more than 70 countries. The fifth India-Russia Military Industry Conference is also to be held on the side-lines of the event.

Notes:
‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ (PMKVY) is the flagship skill development scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It is implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation and aims to impart skills to one Crore persons of the country by 2020. It was launched in the year 2015, on the National skills day, July 15.
Recently, the Skill Development Ministry announced that over 73 lakh candidates undertook training under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The Ministry had earlier announced that PMKVY-III will be launched this year, with enhanced initiatives.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced that it has discovered a new natural gas field with 80 trillion standard cubic feet of shallow gas resources. The new gas field was named ‘Jebel Ali gas field’.
The field is located between the territories of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and reported to span around 5,000 square kilometres. This discovery would help the country become more energy independent, and self-sufficient. As of now, the UAE imports natural gas from its neighbouring country Qatar for electricity. The National Oil companies of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set to further explore the field.